


Let Me Convince You

by IAmJustAlways (ThirtySeven)



Series: Everpanther Secretly Married Verse [2]
Category: Black Panther (2018)
Genre: M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Black Panther (2018)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-24 08:00:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13806945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirtySeven/pseuds/IAmJustAlways
Summary: T'Challa needs to convince a certain CIA agent to keep his alter-ego under wraps.Set in the head canon that T'Challa and Everett were married during the events of Black Panther. But, y'know, before they were married.





	Let Me Convince You

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't read the junior novel so not compliant with that. un-beta'd.

There was a crack in the wall. It was tiny, barely noticeable in its place tucked away in the corner. T’Challa wouldn’t normally have noticed it, no one would have, but when one was sitting in a dark office waiting for the occupant to return, one tends to notice strange details.

This was creepy. He should leave. Wait for morning and come via the front entrance. On the other hand he had already waited far too long to have this conversation. Still…

The door opened, admitting the greying American he was waiting for. Everett Ross looked tired, and who could blame him, the last few days hadn’t exactly been quiet. Completely oblivious to the king sitting in his chair, Ross swung the door shut behind him with his foot and flicked the light on with his elbow, hands too busy balancing a large stack of paper he was reading over. He continued on his way to the desk and T’Challa could only watch in disbelief as the man continued to be ignorant of him. _This_ was a high ranking agent of the CIA? Okoye would have had him at spearpoint almost sooner than she had entered the room. This was – this was –

This was rather amusing actually. The closer Ross got without noticing him, the funnier it got, when the man rounded the desk to stand in front of the chair he was sitting in, T’Challa had to bite his inner lip to stop from laughing. He watched in helpless mirth as the man leaned back and plopped himself right on T’Challa’s lap.

With a yelp, Ross scrambled off him, leaving T’Challa struggling to breathe through heaving laughter.

“What the _hell?!”_

 _Oh_ the look on his _face!_ T’Challa had not laughed like this in – well he couldn’t remember the last time he had allowed himself this sort of release of control. Oh it was sweet, to slowly collapse back into the chair with each shade of red the Agent’s face went through. Eventually he managed to get back control, grinning wide at the disgruntled man.

“Ha ha, very funny. Do you make a habit of lurking in dark offices late at night?”

T’Challa’s eyes sparked with amusement. “Do you make a habit of not noticing when people are lurking in your office, Agent Ross?”

Ross crossed his arms, “Why are you here, your majesty?”

“We need to talk.” All amusement was gone now. Ross, for his part sighed and leaned against his desk.

“You want me to keep quiet about your little – dress up game.”

“The Black Panther has been a guardian of my people for generations. It is a sacred duty, not some dress up game.”

“Be that as it may, you fall under the jurisdiction of the Accords. I have to report you.”

Good. He hadn’t already. T’Challa would be remiss to start his reign as King with the assassination of an ally, but the option still existed – as a last resort. First, to appeal to his better nature.

“I am no hero set to maintain the safety of the world. I work for Wakanda alone and we don’t much care for the goings on of others.” He reasoned.

Ross sighed. “Listen, T’Challa, I have nothing against you. If I was a civilian I would probably keep all this-“ he gestured to the King “-under wraps. But I’m not. Not only do I have no obligation to keep your secret, but I _do_ have an obligation to report it.”

There. A small admission, but one nonetheless. “Let me convince you.” He said, almost pleaded. He _really_ didn’t want to kill him.

Ross blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

T’Challa stood up. In one fluid motion going from looking up at the man to towering over him.

“Have a coffee with me. Tomorrow. Sit down with me and let me convince you. I’m here for the next few months for the conferences, hold off on telling your superiors until I’m gone and in the meantime let me try to convince you to keep my secret.”

Ross narrowed his eyes, but appeared to be thinking it over. “… What’s in it for me?” He asked eventually.

T’Challa shrugged, “Free coffee and the occasional meal?”

“I’m capable of paying for myself,” Came the wry reply.

“My wonderful company?”

Ross turned back to the desk and scribbled something down on a scrap of paper which he promptly shoved into T’Challa’s hand. A phone number.

“Call me tomorrow morning with a time and a place and I’ll see if I’m free. Now – get out of my office, I have work to do.”

***

“You have a _date_ with a colonizer!” Shuri crowed.

T’Challa frowned. “It is not a date. I’m trying to stop him from revealing the secret of the Black Panther to the entire world.”

He was seated in a small café near the building where Ross worked, waiting for the man to join him for lunch. Of course it was now that Shuri had chosen to call, ask what he was doing and _mock him_ when he answered honestly.

“Pfft if he was a serious threat, you’d just kill him.”

“Believe it or not, sister, assassination is not my first choice when dealing with a problem. Especially not this sort of problem. The man is innocent –“

“You _liiike hiiim_.” She crooned. T’Challs growled and hung up the phone.

“Annoying subject?” Ross pulled back the chair opposite T’Challa and sat down, an amused glimmer in his eyes.

“Annoying sister,” T’Challa corrected, “she thinks I should just assassinate you.”

Ross blinked back poorly concealed horror and T’Challa swore internally. Stupid, _stupid_.

“Ah don’t worry,” he backtracked, “I won’t soon take instruction from a fifteen year old.”

“You’re not very good at this whole diplomacy thing, are you?” Ross commented.

Suddenly the menu was the most interesting thing in the world, “Aha no.” They lapsed into an awkward silence.

Eventually Ross said, “So. Your sister is fifteen? That’s – ah – quite an age gap.” He sounded as awkward as T’Challa felt, but he leapt at the chance to restart the conversation.

“She was a bit of a surprise. My family has a long tradition of only having one child – rival heirs to the throne can make things… messy.”

Ross’ eyebrows crinkled together in an almost-frown that T’Challa couldn’t help but find somewhat charming. “I thought most royal families wanted as many children as possible. Heirs and the spares.”

T’Challa’s lips quirked. “In Western society maybe, it is a system that would make sense. But in Wakanda our monarchy is a little different. It tends to go through one direct line but it is also tested in a trial by combat. Technically any citizen of Wakanda could become King if I agreed to fight them, but I don’t have to agree – unless the contester is of royal blood. Imagine being in the middle of a crises, then suddenly everything has to stop because some fifteen year old distant cousin of this King decides to challenge for the throne.”

“So your sister could challenge you for the throne?”

T’Challa laughed at the idea of Shuri demanding ritual combat. “She could, but she won’t, she hates rules and order, says it destroys the mind. Her children could challenge for kingship though, and her children’s children. For seven generations her progeny will be a threat to my progeny, and in seven generations, family ties grow loose.”

Ross nodded in understanding, “Hence why multiple children are frowned upon.”

“Precicely. Though I would never trade Shuri for a second. She’s amazing. She brightens a whole room when she enters – and raises the mean IQ by at least twenty.”

“A smart one, then?” Ross smiled, leaning forward onto his hand when T’Challa laughed.

“You could say that. When most children go to high school, Shuri went to Oxford.” _And before that the Wakandan Academy of Science_ , he thought, but he was not here to give away more secrets.

“She sounds remarkable – well for someone keen on my death.”

“Ah, she was joking. If she thought for one second that I’d actually kill you, she’d probably argue adamantly against it.” A lie, but a white one. T’Challa probably couldn’t bring himself to kill this man even if he did decide to reveal his secret.

Ross tilted his head, a smile still in his eyes. “You know, you haven’t actually tried to convince me not to tell my superiors yet.”

That gave T’Challa pause. Not only was he right, but T’Challa hadn’t even considered how he’d go about doing it beside asking him to lunch. They watched each other for a moment, the anticipation of – something – in the air.

Ross’ phone buzzed on the table top. Glancing down the agent swore and jumped out of his chair.

“Sorry, I’ve got to go – same time tomorrow?”

And with that he swept out of the little café, leaving the King of Wakanda to stare after him.

**Author's Note:**

> I might add more, might not. My first priority is getting ack into writing my other fic, FTA.  
> Follow me on tumblr @ever-panther


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